[Question] HP 8100 SFF ugrade for gaming

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tobenitz

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Dec 6, 2012
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Hi ppl,

I have a HP 8100 SFF and wanted to upgrade for gaming.

hardware specs will be retained:
mobo: HP 8100 Elite MS-7557 LGA 1156 BTX Motherboard 531991-001
proc: Intel® Core™ i5-650 Processor (4M Cache, 3.20 GHz)
ram: 8gb


question:
- can i upgrade this to a gaming pc?
- can a any hd 7850 work with his machine? (upgrade psu will be added)
- fps average? detail level? (e.g. high, low) on battlefield 3, diablo 3, starcraft 2, crysis 2, skyrim?

thanks in advance.
 
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Yes correct. This the hp8100 sff i have. I was thinking of using only the i5-650 processor and mobo since proc uses lga1156.

So any hd 7850 would not be compatible on this board?

 
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It's compatible, but it won't fit into that case. That case will only accept low-profile graphic cards. Moving the motherboard, CPU and RAM into another case isn't going to be as easy either as the motherboard is a BTX form factor (requiring a BTX form factor case).

-Wolf sends
 
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Here are the low profile cards on Newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709+600038363&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=48&description=&hisInDesc=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=
 
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Best low profile, low power card is the 7750. Excellent for gaming at 720p or even a little higher, but it's still a lower end "gamer" card. It's probably going to be pushing it for a 240W PSU, too.

Moving to a BTX case is not always easy because SFF machines are rarely adhering to any standard. They often have weird shapes to fit in smaller cases and risers for the PCI slots. I doubt it's even an option to move to a new case.

If it were me, I'd say you are looking at a partial rebuild. You could reuse the drives and processor, but the case, PSU, MB are not really going to be reusable. Then you run into the decision of do you throw money at a 2 generation old socket by buying a new 1156 motherboard. Cheaper now to reuse your CPU, but more expensive later to upgrade. That's up to you. I bet you could find a fairly cheap used 1156 MB if you wanted. First gen i5's are still great gaming chips, so I wouldn't have any concerns from that standpoint. If you bought into Socket 1155, you'd have to fork out for a new CPU, too, and at least an i3 which is $130.



 
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thanks for the reply.

If casing is not the issue for me. here's what im curious at?

what video card can i get to play extensive games like battlefield 2, crysis 2, etc. with at least 45 - 60 or more fps average and medium to high details.
i know 7850 might be an overkill? right?

it has a 240w power supply. what psu replacement should i get?



 
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Low profile means it's a short card to fit in your slim case. A regular size PCIe card is about 4" tall. Your case is not tall enough to accept cards that size. You would have to use low profile cards which are about 2-2.5" tall. Unfortunately that doesn't leave enough room to fit cooling and processors for the high end graphics cards. The highest end low profile card that you can buy mass market is the 7750. It's not a high end card, but you would be able to play games like you mentioned at medium-high settings at like 1366x720 resolution.

Now that card recommends a 400W power supply, but we know from tests it really only uses about 50W, so with your 73W CPU, I think you could run it just fine on 240W, although you are getting into a little bit of risk.

Any higher than the 7750, and you are talking overhaul, like I mentioned previously. You'd want a new ATX or MicroAtx motherboard, case and a 500W power suppy. Then you could run a 7870 or GTX660 which will give you high quality at 1080p for most games.


 
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You know, scratch my whole last post.

Looking at the quickspecs: http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/13524_na/13524_na.HTML

It says the PCIe slots have a max power output of 35W. You can't run anything in those that will play games. That's like a Radeon 5450 which is about as good as the onboard graphics. You could cram a 1000w power supply in the case and your system would still crash because the PCI slots can't handle anything worth using. A real PCIe slot should be capable of 75W.

You are going to need a new MB, Case and Power supply before you can add a semi decent card to play games. That system just wasn't designed for what you want to do.

 
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I have a question that I believe goes along with this thread. I have a Gateway GT5220 Desktop Media Center Edition PC. It has a BTX motherboard (specifically, C51PVGM-GB). Is it possible for the BTX motherboard in this computer, HP 8100 Elite Convertible Minitower Business PC, to go in mines (Gateway GT5220) since they're both BTX cases and look to be of the same size?
 
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Probably, but you should open your own thread. What you're doing is called "hijacking" a thread and is not a good idea. Once we solve a problem we want the thread closed, not kept open on a separate topic. Thanks....
 
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Doubtful. There is almost nothing standard about SFF computers.
 
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I have tried it and the 7750 does not work in the HP 8100 Elite SFF. It can't draw the power it needs. I wish I would've seen this thread earlier.

I do have a 5450 in there which really only adds value in having a digital output. It does not enhance gaming experience at all. If you want to play games, don't use a SFF.

Edited to add SFF to avoid confusion.
 
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I know this a month late, but did it work for you right out of the box, or did you have to mess with it? I am having issues with mine in an 8100 SFF, but not an older 7900 SFF

 
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It´s never too late 😉

It worked "out of the box", but i own a 8300SFF, without knowing whether there is a power-supply-difference (240W). A "Club3D Radeon HD7750 Low Profile" works :bounce:
 
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I have the same problem for my HP 8100 Elite SFF i5 3.1Ghz.
Would it be possible to do some sort of eGPU for it? Like the graphics card with it's own power source externally and then some kind of "extention cord" back to the PCIe port?
Is that kind of connection even possible?
Would that avoid the low-powered motherboard PCIe problem? Or would it still run into that issue?

I've found acceptable cards for like $30-60 and PSUs for about the same, so if I could just connect it all to the motherboard somehow I'm set. If they can do it for laptops, then why not these stupid SFF?
 
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